Corrugated Wall Tie

ABSTRACT

A corrugated wall tie includes rounded corners to avoid injury to installers and other workmen.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of building construction elements and, more particularly, to a wall tie with rounded corners.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One typical construction arrangement commonly in use today calls for a brick veneer to be assembled over a wood frame backing. To maintain good insulation properties, the layer of brick is laid with an air gap between the bricks and the backing. However, in order to maintain the stability of the assembly, a number of brick ties or wall ties are attached to the backing, such as for example by nailing, and then the layer of bricks is laid with the ties joined to the brick layer by mortar.

As described by Masonry Advisory Council, Park Ridge, Ill., the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) National Building Code BOCA 1405.5.3 states that wall ties must be installed at not less than one per three square feet of wall area, not more than 32 inches apart horizontally, and not more than 16 inches apart vertically. Typically, wood stud framing is on 16″ centers, so the limit of 32″ on center horizontally would permit one tie in every other stud, but the one tie per three square feet requirement would then limit the vertical spacing to 13″+, which would require that ties be installed in every fourth course of brick, which may unneccesarily slow down the mason when laying the brick. Therefore, in order to comply with BOCA and maximize mason productivity, it is suggested that a wall tie be attached to each stud (at 16″ or 24″ o.c.) not to exceed every 16″ vertically (6 courses for 2¼″ high units [modular and standard] and 5 courses for 2¾″ high units [queen, princess, king, engineer, and norwegian]).

Random installation of wall ties without regard to bed joint height serves no purpose. Wall ties are optimally effective when nailed at the level of the bed joint. If wall ties are installed by framing carpenters or by someone other than the brickmason, an acceptable practice is to nail them on level horizontal lines corresponding to bed joint heights at regular vertical intervals. Compliance with BOCA 1405.5.3 as described above would be achieved by a tie on every stud at 16″ vertically. This would permit the ties to be anchored in the same course of brickwork. Ties nailed randomly serve little or no purpose.

If brickmasons install wall ties, they should follow the same spacing requirements stated above. Tie requirements do not change according to variable properties of brick, such as absorption. Tie installation by competent masons can result in more effective tie strength if the nail is even with the top of the course of brick receiving the tie. If the nail is above or below the top of the course of brickwork receiving the tie, the effectiveness of the tie will be measurably reduced.

Wall ties on wood stud framing serve one purpose: They transfer lateral forces on the brickwork, primarily wind loads, back to the wood framing. The action of the wind can produce a lateral force in either the form of pressure or suction on the brickwork, and the ties deliver that load to the framing system which resists the load.

The typical wall tie is formed of a length of metal, commonly galvanized steel, and cut to length in the manufacturing process. In doing so, sharp corners are formed at each end of the tie, which can be hazardous to the installer, whether the tie is installed by the frame carpenter or the brickmason. These sharp corners have been known to cut through the skin of the installers, and to pose a hazard to those who come in contact with the ties sticking from the backing wall until they are covered up by the laying of brick over the wall.

The present invention is directed to solving this long felt need in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a corrugated wall tie, formed in the usual fashion, with the additional step in the manufacturing process of rounding the corners of tie. As used herein, the term “rounding” as it refers to the corners means that the curvature of the corners meets the long and short sides of the tie tangentially. In this way, no point is left on the tie to cause injury to the installer and other workers at the job site. This also makes the manufacturing simple and easy, adding very little to the cost of the tie, which is typically used in large quantities on projects involving the application of the brick veneer.

These and other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the following detailed description along with the accompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wall construction wherein the present invention may find application.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a wall tie of this invention showing the rounded corners.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a wall tie of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical wall construction 10 that makes use of a wall tie. The wall construction 10 comprises mainly a wood frame wall backing 12 and a brick veneer 14, joined together with a plurality of wall ties 16. The wall ties may be nailed to the backing 12 by a framing carpenter at predetermined heights, or by the brickmason as he goes along. The wall tie is typically about 6⅜″ long and ⅞″ wide. The tie is preferably 22 gage, or 0.029″ minimum thickness. Construction codes dictate a minimum of one inch for an air gap 18 between the backing and the brick veneer.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a preferred embodiment of the wall tie 16 of this invention. The wall tie comprises a corrugated body 17 and includes a rounded corner 20 at the junction of each long side and short side. Note that the rounded corners are tangent to the respective long and short sides, with no sharp corner or points, as in the art. The tie 16 also includes a plurality of nail holes 22, spaced apart along the length of the tie, adapted to receive a properly sized nail to affix the tie to a wood frame backing.

FIG. 3 illustrates that the tie is preferable corrugated with uniformly spaced lands 24 and grooves 26. This shape of the tie is common in the art, but for the rounded corners.

Modifications and variations may be made to the embodiments described herein and depicted in the accompanying drawings without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, it is understood that the embodiments described herein are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 

1. A wall tie comprising a corrugated body defined by a pair of spaced apart long sides and a pair of spaced apart short sides and a rounded corner at each junction of a long side and a short side.
 2. The wall tie of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of spaced apart nail holes through the body. 